Arthur Gets The Plague!
by Mr. Inkpot
Summary: Arthur worries he's caught the plague after watching a video about the Black Death.
1. Chapter 1

Arthur Gets The Plague Arthur Gets The Plague!

After watching a video about the Black Death at school, Arthur finds a spot on his arm and believes he has the plague.

Arthur and his friends were excited. Mr. Ratburn had announced earlier in the day that the class would be watching a video on the Black Death as part of their medieval project, and everybody cheered. It wasn't often Ratburn allowed television in school.

"I hear the Black Death killed the entire population of England," Francine said knowledgeably. "In three days!"

The Brain, who was sitting nearby, shook his head and held out a double page from a book he was reading, which was entitled _Plagues of Our Time_. "That's not correct. The Black Death only killed one third of the population of England, and that was over a period of three _years_, not three days."

"It sounds kind of scary, though," Arthur said nervously. "I mean, all those people dying from one disease…"

Muffy leaned over. "My great-great-great uncle caught the Black Death. Daddy said he was the only person to survive it!"

"That doesn't sound very likely, Muffy," The Brain said, still reading from _Plagues of Our Time. _

Muffy gasped. "You're just jealous!"

Mr. Ratburn switched off the lights. "Everybody quiet! The video's about to start."

The black screen of the TV suddenly blinked into a medieval scene. Peasant farmers were working in a field, and a short man wearing a brown cloak suddenly appeared.

"_The black death has come to England," _the man said in a strong English accent. _"Everybody will die!" _

At once the farmers dropped their pitchforks and ran off screaming.

Arthur watched anxiously as the beautiful medieval scene suddenly turned into a scene of turmoil.

"I think I'm gonna throw up," Buster said quietly. Arthur gulped nervously.

At last the video finished, and Ratburn switched on the lights. Everybody breathed a sigh of relief.

"For your homework tonight, I'd like each of you to write a report on the Black Death!" Ratburn said happily, and the bell clanged to signal the end of the day.

Outside, everybody was discussing the video they had just watched. "It was disgusting!" Francine wailed, unlocking her bike and putting on her helmet. "I've never been more close to fainting!"

Binky laughed stupidly. "I thought it was _cool_!"

Arthur laughed falsely. "Yeah, me too! I especially liked the…uh…fields."

His cheeks went pink. Francine wheeled off down the road. "Well I thought it was gross," she called back, before disappearing down the street.

"Shall we go to the library and see if they have the video there? We could watch it again!" Binky said enthusiastically, pulling his bag onto his back.

Arthur power-walked off down the road. "No thanks, Binky! Maybe another day!"

Later on, Arthur was sitting at his desk. A blank sheet of paper was laid out on the table in front of him. As Arthur bit the end of his pencil, Pal came into the room and jumped onto his lap.

"It's no use Pal!" Arthur said desperately. "I can't write about the Black Death. I don't want to think about it ever again!" Pal whined, and Arthur groaned, laying his head on the paper.

"I have to think positively about the Black Death, that's the only way I can write this report." Arthur told himself, and DW came into the room.

"What are you doing?" she said nosily, skipping around the desk.

"Go away DW!" Arthur yelled, straightening up and pointing to the door. "I have to finish this report by tomorrow!"

DW smiled and snatched the paper from the desk. "You haven't done a very good job, there's nothing on here."

Arthur scowled and yanked the paper back from her. "GO AWAY! MUM!"

DW quickly scampered from the room.

Arthur sighed and suddenly looked down at his arm. There on his skin was a red spot! He gasped and sprang up from his seat.

"But that means………I have the plague!" Arthur cried.


	2. Chapter 2

"Arthur

"Arthur! Dinner time!" Mrs. Read called from the stairs. Arthur ran to the door and shouted, "In a minute, Mom!"

Pal was whining on the bed, and Arthur sat down next to him, still rubbing his arm. "I can't believe this is happening to me! I have the plague! How am I supposed to live here now? Everybody will hate me and avoid me," he said sadly, looking at the spot.

"Arthur, _now_!" Mrs. Read shouted up the stairs again, and Arthur quickly pulled his sleeve down. "I can't tell them about this. I'll have to keep it a secret." Pal whimpered.

Later on, Arthur was tossing and turning in bed. He was muttering to himself, whilst touching the spot on his arm.

_Arthur was a peasant farmer. Buster was standing next to him, wearing a straw hat and rags. They were both carrying pitchforks. Suddenly, a man wearing a brown cloak appeared. _

"_The Black Death has come to England!" the man shouted. Buster dropped his pitchfork and started screaming. _

_Arthur looked down and saw a red spot on his arm. He gasped and tried to conceal the mark. _

"_You brought the plague to England!" Buster said in an English accent, grabbing his arm and pointing at the spot. "It's all your fault, now the whole town will die!" _

"_It's not my fault! I didn't mean it!" Arthur pleaded, throwing his arms into the air. _

"_I think we should be rid of him now!" the man with the cloak said, and Buster agreed. _

"_NO! NOO!" Arthur screamed. _

Arthur woke with a start. He looked down and saw that the spot was still there.

"I can't go to school! Everybody will catch the plague! What am I going to do?" Arthur slipped into his dressing gown and went downstairs.

Mrs. Read was in the kitchen, feeding Arthur's baby sister Kate. "Arthur why aren't you dressed yet?" Mrs. Read asked, spooning baby food into Kate's mouth. Arthur clutched his stomach and walked sluggishly over to the kitchen table.

"I think I'm sick, I can't go to school today," he said slowly, groaning and collapsing into a chair.

"You were fine, yesterday," Mrs. Read said. "Maybe I should take your temperature."

"NO!" Arthur protested, taking his arms away from his stomach and quickly putting them back. "I feel so hot it'd probably break…."

DW came into the room, fully dressed and smiling. "Good morning, Mother. Why's Arthur not dressed? You're faking!"

Arthur jumped up and scowled. "No I am not!" he yelled, and quickly sat down again, pretending to groan with pain.

"Even I can fake better than that," DW said, unimpressed. Mrs. Read looked at both of them suspiciously. "Well I guess a day off won't hurt…"

"Thanks Mom," Arthur said meekly, and he hurried off upstairs.

Suddenly the phone rang. A few minutes later, Mrs. Read was calling up the stairs again. "Arthur! Buster's on the phone!"

Arthur walked slowly down the stairs, still holding his stomach and groaning with pain. He took the receiver and said scratchily, "Hello?"

"Arthur! ARTHUR! I think I have the plague!" Buster said nervously. "I work up this morning and I felt different. I felt _cold_, Arthur! Cold!"

"I have a spot on my arm! I definitely have the plague!" Arthur whispered back, looking at the red mark on his arm. "We can't go to school, can we?"

Buster shook his head, and hissed back, "We can't go anywhere ever again! I've already infected my Mom, she has a cough this morning!"

Arthur sat on the stairs, curling the telephone wire in his fingers. "I thought the plague disappeared over three hundred years ago!"

"Me too! I'm staying at home today." Buster said gravely.

Arthur put down the receiver and turned around. DW was standing in the doorway with her arms folded.

"The plague? Boy you are in so much trouble!" she said dramatically.


	3. Chapter 3

"DW

"DW! You don't even know what the plague is!" Arthur yelled across the hall.

"Well I know it must be something _really _bad, so I'm telling Mom!" DW said, and she turned to leave.

"No! DW _please_! You can't tell Mom!" Arthur said desperately.

"You aren't sick, either! Fine I'll tell Dad instead!" DW said gleefully.

Arthur tiptoed across the hall and grabbed DW's arm, pulling her round to face him.

"No, don't! I'll do anything you want for two whole weeks!" Arthur pleaded, kneeling down and throwing his arms up in the air.

"Well……ok," DW said thoughtfully. "You have to play _Confuse the Goose _and _Tower of Cows _and sing and dance to the _Crazy Bus _soundtrack every day!"

Arthur scowled, but said hesitantly, "Deal."

DW smirked and skipped back into the kitchen. Arthur groaned and traipsed back up stairs.

Later on Arthur was looking at the spot on his arm. "It's getting bigger, Pal," Arthur said sadly. "Soon Mom and Dad will get sick, and then DW, and then Kate, and then the whole town!" Pal whined.

"Maybe Buster caught it off me!" Arthur said nervously, walking over to his bedroom window and looking out at the city. "This is all my fault!"

Mrs Read came into the room. "Are you feeling any better, Arthur?"

Arthur quickly pulled his sleeve down and nodded. "Yeah, I feel fine! I don't think I should go to school tomorrow though. I might infect the class with…….my _cold_."

Mrs Read folded her arms. "Are you sure you're ok, Arthur? I think maybe going back to school tomorrow would be a good idea."

"NO!" Arthur said loudly, sitting down on the bed and groaning again. "I still have a really bad cold."

Mrs Read frowned, and DW came into the room. "Arthur! It's time for _Confuse the Goose_!"

Arthur scowled and dragged himself out of the room. "Ok………."

As DW laid the game board down on the floor, the phone suddenly rang. Mr. Read called down the hall. "Arthur! Francine is on the phone!"

"Nope, you can't leave now. You told me one solid hour of _Confuse the Goose _each day! Can't your girlfriend wait?" DW said angrily, spilling game pieces onto the board. Arthur groaned.

"This'll only take five minutes!" He said, and quickly left the room.

"Hello?" Arthur said tiredly, trying to make his voice sound croaky.

"ARTHUR! I have the plague! I felt really shaky and weird last night, and it's definitely the Black Death!" Francine yelled down the receiver.

Arthur gasped. "Not you too!"

"You mean other people have it? We're all going to die, Arthur!" Francine bellowed.

"Calm down, Francine," Arthur whispered, checking to see that DW was still in the living room. "We have to stay strong. I have a spot on my arm, so I think I'm gonna be the first to go…."

"Don't say that, Arthur!" Francine said worriedly.

"ARTHUR! COME ON!" DW yelled from the next room.

"I have to go. We can't tell anybody about this. We have to keep it a secret. Buster has it too, so you can tell him about it." Arthur said smoothly, and he put down the telephone receiver.

"ARTHUR!" DW cried.

Later on, Arthur was once again tossing and turning in bed.

_Arthur was walking down the school corridor. It was empty, and Arthur was worried. He reached Ratburn's room and twisted the doorknob. The door creaked inwards, and Arthur crept inside. The room was empty, and on the blackboard was a large, red X. Suddenly, a man cowering in the corner stood up and shielded himself with a brown cloak. "It's you! You're the boy who bought the plague to Elwood City! Thanks to you, the whole town is dead!"_

_The man lowered his cloak and his face was revealed. It was Mr. Ratburn, and his body was covered in spots. _

"_NO! I didn't mean it! Please! PLEASE!" Arthur yelled. _

Arthur woke up and sighed. "I have to tell somebody."


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry this chapter took a little longer than the others. Enjoy.

Arthur crept out of the house. Outside, the sky was grey and cloudy, and the streets were deserted. Mrs. Read thought that Arthur was still in bed.

Arthur had taken every precaution possible to protect the world from his deadly disease. He was wearing a thick rain jacket with the hood sealed over his head, a doctor's mask which he had strapped around his mouth, large rubber boots to protect his infected feet and rubber gloves to quarantine his disease-covered hands.

Arthur didn't care what he looked like, or how he may look to other people. His situation was becoming desperate, and there was only one person in the world he knew would understand.

Grandma Thora had tears in her eyes when she opened the front door. She smiled weakly and pulled Arthur into a massive hug.

"What's wrong, Grandma Thora?" Arthur asked nervously, pulling the doctor's mask further up his mouth.

"Something awful has happened," Thora said sadly, wiping more tears from her eyes and leading Arthur into the house.

"Like what?" Arthur said even more seriously, feeling the spot on his arm and wincing.

"It's all over the news, Arthur," Thora said, sitting Arthur down in a chair and picking up the TV remote. "Hundreds, maybe thousands have died."

Arthur gasped.

"Arthur, what are you wearing?" Grandma Thora said disapprovingly, switching on the TV and flicking to the news channel.

"Umm, school project, nothing to worry about!" Arthur said unconvincingly, pulling his hood further down his head.

A _Breaking News _bulletin appeared on the screen. Pictures showed thousands of people covered from head to toe in deep red spots. Vicars were walking amongst the infected, carrying crosses and praying, whilst large red X's were painted on almost every door. A newsreader gestured at the scenes of devastation behind him.

"Yesterday, this city was plague-free and happy. Today, this city may not live to see the night. A devastating and sudden disease, recognised as the long-extinct Black Death, has raged through America and killed thousands in the space of hours. Doctors and medical professionals are stunned and shocked at this impossible situation, and they have advised everybody to quarantine themselves indoors until this plague is under control."

A scrawny, pale man suddenly appeared behind the newsreader and bellowed, "Bring out your dead!"

Arthur had turned white. He couldn't believe this was happening. It was all his fault, and now it all seemed so real. Because it _was _real.

"I didn't want to alarm you, Arthur, but I thought you should know," Grandma Thora said seriously, sighing and crossing to the window. "Soon it will reach Elwood City. You can't leave this house now, dear. You heard what the newsreader said."

Arthur stood up and gestured desperately with his hands, spluttering and stammering. "I know this is scary, Arthur, but medicine today can work wonders. We'll be ok," Thora said gently, giving Arthur another hug and sighing.

"But Grandma, the whole town is in danger! Shouldn't we escape?" Arthur said, running to the front door and turning the doorknob.

"No, Arthur. We've been told to stay indoors, and God help us if we disobey the professionals. Anyway, no plague has entered this house. It's perfectly safe." Thora said confidently.

"No! You don't understand! I infected everybody, it was me. Everybody is dying because of me." Arthur groaned and fell back onto the sofa.

"What do you mean, dear? You haven't got the plague!" Thora said, sitting down next to Arthur and putting an arm around his shoulder. Arthur winced and pulled away, ripping his sleeve up his arm and pointing down to the throbbing spot on his skin. "Yes I do."


	5. Chapter 5

Remember this is supposed to be like a real Arthur episode, so I'm sorry if the ending disappoints you, but I feel this is how the story would've ended.

"Arthur, dear, that's just a spot!" Grandma Thora said reassuringly.

"Yes, a plague spot!" Arthur cried, gesturing at the mark on his arm. "It can't be anything else. I must've caught the plague somehow, and now everybody has it."

Grandma Thora chuckled. "Oh Arthur. Your Mother said you'd been acting a bit strangely lately."

Arthur stood up and pinched the spot harder. "Well wouldn't you, if you knew you had the plague! And now Francine and Buster have it, and now the whole country, and it's because of _me_!"

Thora folded her arms and continued to chuckle, even though this was not a laughing matter. Arthur's very life was at stake here!

"I think you'd be feeling a little different by now if you had the plague," she said gently, sitting Arthur back down again.

"Well…I don't feel that bad," Arthur said slowly, thinking about the last few days and readjusting his glasses. "But what else can it be? You heard the newsreader, the whole country has the plague!"

"Arthur, that was just a commercial, I thought you knew that. It was advertising the dangers of modern disease," Thora said knowingly.

Arthur was shocked. "But – but why did you react so strongly to it? Why did you tell us to stay in here? Why were you crying about the amount of deaths? I don't understand." Arthur put his head in his hands and looked sadly down at the floor.

Grandma Thora sighed and pointed to the television, which, Arthur now realised, had a gleaming red bow pinned to one of the sides.

"I was crying because I was so excited and proud about my new television, Arthur. I thought you'd come over to see it, and I'd seen the disease commercial before and thought it would be fun to play along with the idea of a plague to make you more interested in my television."

Arthur wiped a few tears from his eyes and said quietly, "So I don't have the plague?"

"Of course not, dear," Thora said kindly. "And I think suggestion may have been playing on yours and your friend's minds. Once you see something for yourself, you automatically think that you're in the same position."

Outside, the sun was now shining down on the city. Arthur remembered the video, and relief swept over him. "I think I know what that could've been," he said happily, and Thora crossed the room to the telephone.

"I'll call your Mom, Arthur. She's probably wondering where you are."

"Ok, thanks Grandma!" Arthur sat down again and laid back amongst the sofa cushions. He didn't have the plague! The whole country didn't have the plague! Suddenly something sprouted from the end of his nose. Something red. Arthur gasped and gazed down his nose in horror…….

THE END ;)


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